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The present invention relates generally to furniture components and, more particularly to a spring-edge construction for a chair, sofa, or similar seating construction.
Sofas, loveseats, and chairs are well-known seating components and are found in virtually every home. These seating components typically use a support assembly that includes a number of spring coils. These spring coils are held between a base of some type and the cushion of the piece of furniture and provide a resilient support for the cushion.
The front edge of these seating components is typically either a xe2x80x9chard-edgexe2x80x9d construction or a xe2x80x9cspring-edgexe2x80x9d construction. A hard-edge construction example is illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows a chair with a base frame 10. Typically, this base frame is made of wood. While not shown, a supporting material is connected across the base frame 10 to support a coil assembly 12. The supporting material is often a fabric stretched across the bottom of the frame and stapled in place. An exemplary coil assembly 12 is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,881, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. This type of coil support is known as a pocketed-coil assembly or an encased coil assembly. An upholstered fabric 16 is used to cover the base and coil assembly to make the furniture more comfortable and attractive. After the coil assembly and upholstery are in place, a cushion 14 is placed over the coil assembly to complete the construction. As stated above, the chair shown in FIG. 1 has a hard-edge construction. In this hard-edge construction the coil assembly 12 extends nearly all the way to the front rail of the frame 10. Moreover, in such a construction, the top of the front rail is in the same plane as the top of the pocketed-coil assembly 12. In this construction, when an occupant is positioned over the chair front, the cushion 14 can xe2x80x9cbottom outxe2x80x9d on the front rail. The hard-edge construction offers a firm feel along the chair front. While the hard-edge construction is preferable to some people, a softer feel is preferable to others. A spring-edge provides this softer feel.
An example of the spring-edge construction utilizing a pocketed-coil assembly is shown in FIG. 2. This spring-edge construction is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,881. In a spring-edge construction, the front rail top is not in the same plane as the coil assembly top. Instead, the front rail top is midway up the height of the coil assembly. As seen in FIG. 2, a front-spring row 18 is then located on top of the rail and is attached to both the rail and to the pocketed-coil assembly. This front-spring row 18 is shown using a shorter pocketed coil.
When a spring-edge construction is used along with the pocketed-coil assembly, as shown in FIG. 2, several problems are presented. First, the additional row of shorter pocketed coils is installed by attaching the front row of pocketed coils to the pocketed-coil assembly with hog rings. The lower edge of each front coil is then stapled to the front rail. Then, an upper-border wire is attached to the upper, front edge of the front pocketed-coil row. This installation process is time consuming. Second, the stiffness of the front edge is difficult to adjust. Basically, the stiffness of the front edge is determined by the front pocketed-coil row. Third, it has been found that the front pocketed-coil row can interact undesirably with the pocketed-coil assembly when both are compressed. This interaction often results in a clicking feel as the coils of the front row come in contact with, and then quickly separate from, the coils in the pocketed-coil assembly. Along with the clicking feel, the interaction causes noise. Both of these conditions are undesirable.
A new spring-edge furniture construction is needed that offers the furniture fabricator a simple installation method. In addition, the new spring-edge furniture construction should avoid any coil-to-coil contact. Finally, it would be desirable to allow the furniture fabricator to specify or change the stiffness of the front spring-edge construction.
A novel support for use with furniture having a spring-edge is provided that includes a coil assembly. The coil assembly is typically square or rectangular with top and bottom surfaces and a front edge that faces the front of the furniture piece. A bridge is secured to the top surface of the coil assembly to provide support for the spring-edge. The bridge extends outwardly away from the front edge of the coil assembly and is supported in the same plane as the top surface of the coil assembly by a series of wires. The wire supports terminate at and hold a stiffening member in place that forms the upper portion of the spring-edge. The stiffening member is used to attach a series of front springs to the bridge. These springs are held in place on their lower end by the frame of the piece of furniture. The bridge allows a spring-edge construction where the front springs are spaced away from the coil assembly, so that any potential for noise is eliminated. Moreover, the front springs can be varied in shape, spacing and material to tune the stiffness of the spring-edge.
Additional advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned from practice of the invention.